Patience for Pillows

   This is my stack of handmade pillows. They live on our bed, and I like them quite a bit.

I like the idea of sewing. I like the feeling at the end where you hold the finished product out in front of you and think, ''I made this! Myself!''. Unfortunately, there's a lot that goes in between Point A and Point Z.

I'm a Point A and a Point Z person. And I'm not sure that my sewing arsenal (or my mind) has enough tools (or patience) to endure the entire ordeal.

My Point A is flipping through magazines and finding color schemes that make my hands get clammy. Point A is dreaming of how wonderful it would be to live in such a colorful fantastic world. Point A is thinking of how I can make it come to life for our space and for our budget. Point A is thinking how wife-ish it would be to make the pillows myself, scattering my homemade trinkets around the house whilst homemade bread bakes in the oven...oh my! Fetch me my apron!

My Point Z is taking pictures of my hand sewn goods to show family and friends and blog readers how far I've come in my crafting skills, and talking about how to do it yourself.

(But the truth is, you probably don't want my advice. Not yet, anyway. Take a look at the picture above. The pillows aren't completely finished, and I'm almost sure I know why. I was so excited to see how they'd look in our bedroom, that I wanted to just place them there to see how they looked. Once I saw how much pizazz they added to our space, I left them there! No one would even see the back panels and how they weren't entirely finished. The idea of sitting down at the sewing machine again, after I had already seen how they looked amazing, was just too much all around. My patience was spent, and I was ready for something new.)

Luckily,  my mother-in-law (Andi), has the patience for everything in between Point A and Z. I admire that, and someday I hope to be able to be more like her in that regard. For now, things work out especially well because I come up with ideas,and she's a genius at executing them. Case in point: Roo's Retro Bed.

A year ago, I had found this amazing decor weight fabric in the clearance bin. It was three yards for $2, and I thought it was too good to pass up, so I brought it home and it waited in my fabric bin for a year. Until Roo came along. The green and brown hounds tooth print would be a perfect dog bed cover, and Roo would surely love it. So I recruited Andi to give me a lesson.

An hour into my 'lesson', she had already taken the scissors from my hands at least once (gladly), and scolded me (with love) about doing things right the first time (after sensing my distaste for the whole...process)

So Roo and I played while Andi created the bed cover.

It was everything I could hope for. My own vision of a unique bed for Roo, without all the fuss of actually making it. Andi and I make a great team.

See how thrilled Roo is to have this great (completely finished) bed?!?! Thanks, GrAndi!

In all seriousness, I would like to be able to complete a project by myself. I'll get there. I'll take baby steps. I'll start with a bandanna.

Other than sewing, my lack of patience doesn't just hinder my sewing potential. I don't like baking- measuring things out just doesn't sit well with me. So I'm here to say that I'll work on it. By the end of next week, I hope to complete a bandanna and a very basic baking recipe. Like vanilla cupcakes. Entirely on my own.

Until then, I have to share my Aunt Lisa's etsy link, because she clearly has the patience for the entire creative process. Someday I'll get there *snort*.

 Moon Spirit Studios...Handmade lovelies.


I'll keep dreaming up ideas and work on my patience while I'm at it. If anyone else struggles with these types of things, I'd love to hear!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!